Evan Clarke -vs- Bob Runde ...And Schon Cues

i have to admit i do notice a difference between older schon cues like my dad's old R1 and the new ones like the stl1. there pretty much the same cue looks-wise, and i know this is going to sound odd, but i find that the newer schon's feel almost hollow, whereas the old ones just feel solid. just my .02

from what i've heard the older r series that bob runde helped make play noticeably better than the new ones.

Runde

I had a Runde R1 Tulipwood. I still miss her! I own an elite Tulipwood now and It's just not the same.

Ray

NOT a Runde.

An Opinion

I have owned several cues by Evan Clark and I have seen some of his over-the-top stuff. His design genius has maintained Schon's vast appeal. What a great contribution his work has made. We once discussed the value of a Schon I was thinking of selling; Evan simply asked me if I liked the way the cue hit. At that point, I knew I would have regretted selling it at any price.

Runde and Clarke are both exceptional cuemakers. Their work is different, but it comes down to your preference. As to the question of value, Runde has an advantage...he no longer builds Schon cues so the supply of his Schons is finite and thus more rare.

I often have wondered the same thing, who is Evan Clarke. I have heard that he doesn't appreciate the Runde reference to the old Schon cues, and although I personally don't like the term "Runde Era" Schon for cues built while Bob was still with the company, but not by Bob, a Schon like your R-11 is a Runde cue and should be described that way. I don't consider "Runde era" cues Runde's, just because they were built while Bob was still with Schon. The Runde R-series Schon cues are still a good value considering the playability, and they are collectible too. jmo

I have both, I have played with both for 20 years.....they are both EXCELLENT cues!

What "sharp points" or not has to do with a cue I will never understand? you guys realize some makers CNC points then hand cut them sharp right?!

My everyday player now is an stl-1 which replaced an STL-17. I'm over the whole "flashy" cue deal. I can afford to buy whatever cue I feel like. I want the most solid cue I can get, and thats a plain jane SCHON!

Evan Clark is as talented as any cue maker out there IMO......and doesn't jump on the "copycat" band wagon like a lot of builders have...

G.

JoeyInCali said:

NOT a Runde.

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i heard something about that. it's cool to see it in the picture though. Is that the "A" joint?

little things like that might be what separates runde era schons and even clark schons.

The King said:

What is the meaning in your post of not a Runde ... I must of missed something ?

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he's talking about the huge gap of empty space that isn't filled with anything.

The King said:

Ok I was wondering why that space was in there is this a Evan Clarke Schon ... Why would they do that what purpose does it serve ? Guess that is why they say the newer Schons have a hollow hit to them...

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i think they do it because they lack the attention to detail that Bob Runde had

poolplayer2093 said:

i think they do it because they lack the attention to detail that Bob Runde had

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I'll let you draw your own conclusion.

Evan bought out Bob Runde in 1991. After 17 years I dont think he is a johnny come lately.Now a big company ? With 5 technicians building cues and Evan doing ALL the finishing, is that a big company.Evan does all the designs of the limited models and the current models. I too wish they had the spliced forearm. But not feeding off Bob, Evan has made some design changes. I have owned 8 Schons over the years. Presently own 2 (R) series ( runde era) and 2 SL series from the late nineties (clark era ). I dont see any difference in the hit from one to the other. All four have the Moori mediums (originals) and they all hit real good. Been shooting only 10 years; have owned Blacks, Boars,Pechauers, Oliviers,Josey, etc. Just my 2 cents but I feel they stil make a fine hitting, good looking cue.

this is making me curious...who is evan clark? was he a cuemaker at schon while bob runde was there, and just bought him out? what was his experience w/ cuemaking before he owned schon?

Ah the Schon mystique..........stories abound about who is Schon, what does it mean, who is "the cuemaker", who are the investors?

I can only say this, in 1990 I bought my first Schoen from Danny Barrouty via mail order. It was an R-14 I think.

I had a choice then, repair my car or buy the cue. I bought the cue and rode my bike for several weeks. When I got the cue I rode the bus to the poolroom and promptly won about enough to pay for the repair to the car.

I had been in love with Schon cues since the late 80's when a guy from up north showed up in our Ft. Lauderdale pool room, the MisCue Lounge with one. No one had heard of Schon in my area before then.

I loved that cue. Loved it. Somewhere along the line I sold it. This was when I was getting into the business and began buying and selling cues. :-( Don't sell your favorites.

Along the way throughout the years I tried to replace it with newer Schons and never was able to find one I liked. One year in the late 90's I lucked into a trade deal for an early R-Series and a Tim Scruggs. The Schoen became my daily player as it hit exactly like the one I had sold. It was truly nice too with dash rings, sharp points, and dash rings below the wrap. And some of the nicest birdseye ever seen.

It is my opinion that the newer - post Runde - Schons don't have the same hit. Not worse, but not the same. I personally never could get used to the later ones but just about every older one I hit with was great for me.

I sold that second Schoen to finance a honeymoon. The honeymoon was great, the marriage didn't last, I wish I still had the cue. Why is a cue better than a woman? For the same reason a ____________ is better than a man.

Anyway, legend has it that Bob Runde is/was an instrument maker and paid a lot of attention to the tonal qualities of the wood. He was reputed to be extrememly particular about the wood used and about the amount of cues that Schon should make. I don't know for sure I am just repeating gossip I picked up along the way. I guess I should consult my Blue Book and see what it says. But the story I hear has it that other folks who had money in Schon wanted to up the production as Schons were in high demand and Bob Runde didn't want to. So Bob went away, the production increased and design changes to the structure of the cue were introduced. I have no idea what the arrangement was nor what part Evan played.

I have met Evan many times and he is very personable, very knowledgeable and very into the cues that they build. Schoens of today are very dependable, well crafted cues in my opinion. I guess if I had to make a comparison then it would be to those who prefer older Porsches to newer ones. The newer ones may be technically better but they don't have the feel of the older ones.

And that's all I know about Schoen. Thank you Danny Barrouty for dealing with a 21 year old Air Force Airman!

so was evan clark a cuemaker at schon while bob runde was there, or did he come in afterwards?

Runde vs Clark...

I am a former resident of Milwaukee. I also used to work at Terry Romine's original pool room on Wisconsin Avenue, where Schon cues was started in the back room of the pool room. Bob was the driving force that was behind Schon's success as a custom cue shop. I had one of the first plain birdseye maple cues he ever built, no I don't have it anymore, sold it for one of Bob's rare flat faced joint cues. That one got stolen off of a UPS truck. Since I moved to New Jersey in 1987, Bob sold his portion of Schon back to Terry Romine. Shortly afterward, Terry hired Evan away from McDermott cues. Unless he bought in after getting hired, he is not to my knowledge a Schon partner, he just runs the shop. As far as the quality of the hit of post Runde era Schon's, that is probably due to the fact that they outsource some of the components that get used to make the cues. When Bob was a partner, all components were made in house. I still own five Runde era Schon's and have played with some of the current offerings. The new ones just don't have the same solid hit that Bob's do. Sorry for the long post, but it seems that quite a few of the previous posts had some misinformation that did not correspond with what I know and have talked about with Terry Romine over the last few years.